Packaging apparatus



Nov. 25, 1941. l A. G. ROSE 2,263,739

PACKAGING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 10, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORZ r ATTORNEYS.

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Nov. 25, 1941. A, G, ROSE PACKAGING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 10, 1940 SSheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR A.G.ROSE BY l l l ni l uu i ATTORNE s.

Nov. 25, 1941. A. G. ROSE PACKAGING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 10, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 F\IG.3.

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Patented Nov. 25, 1941 2,263,739 PACKAGING ArrAnA'rUs Alfred German Rose, Gainsborough, England, asslgnor to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, England, a British com- ApplicationDecember 10, 1940, Serial No. 369,390 In Great Britain November 29, 1939 8 Claims.

This invention relates to packaging apparatus for closing and sealing fibre or cardboard boxes or like containers (hereinafter referred to as containers), of the type in which containers are fed to a folding and gluing unit, which applies glue to the outside flaps on the ends of the containers and folds them down on to the inside flaps, and then to a conveyor of the type described in United States Patent No. 2,254,860, dated September 2, 1941, corresponding toBritish application No. 11,655/39, filed April 18, 1939, which applies pressure to both ends of the containers to complete the sealing of the flaps during their travel through the conveyor. The folding and gluing unit is adjustable to accommodate containers of different height and width.

The above type of apparatus will be referred to hereinafter as apparatus of the type described.

The type of conveyor described in the specification mentioned above is of the self-adjusting type in which the containers are arranged to pass between a lower conveyor platform and an upper conveyor member consisting of an endless belt provided with a series of self-positioning pressure rollers arranged to bear against the inner face of the lower lap of the belt. The upper belt in this type of conveyor is usually caused to assume an inclined position at the leading end of the conveyor, i. e.. the position where the containers enter the conveyor, and

, it is with this inclination that the invention is concerned.

Thus, with the belt inclined in the above manner it will be seen that, when feeding to the conveyor containers of differentheight, the containers have to travel a greater or lesser distance, depending onthe height of the container, after leaving the folding and gluing unit before pressure is exerted on the upper flaps by the conveyor. During the travel of the container over this distance, there is a tendency for the upper flaps to spring open and thus give rise to faulty sealing.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome this difficulty by providing means for controlling the upper flaps of the container substantially up to the point where pressure is applied to the flaps by the upper belt of the conveyor irrespective of the height of the container.

According to the invention, therefore, an apparatus of the type described comprises a pair of controlling members arranged to engage and maintain the folded condition of the upper flaps of the container during its transfer from the r bear against the folded flaps.

folding and gluing unit to the conveyor, and means for automatically adjusting the controlling members simultaneously with the adjustment of the folding and gluing device for containers of different sizes in such a manner that the distance between the controlling members and the inclined portion of the upper belt of the conveyor (considered in the direction of travel of the container) remains substantially constant. Conveniently, the controlling members are slidably mounted on guide rails which bear against the upper side edges of the container during its travel through the folding and gluing device and are adjustable for containers of different sizes, and the adjustment of the controlling members is brought about by stationary guides inclined at substantially the same angle as the upper belt of the conveyor and cooperating with projections on the controlling members so as automatically to move the controlling members towards or away from the inclined portion of said belt, in a direction parallel to the direction of travel of the containers, as the guide rails are adjusted to accommodate taller or shorter containers.

Each controlling member is preferably in the form of a set of rotatable flanged rollers, numbering say five, freely mounted side by side, in the lengthwise direction of the container, on a supporting member which is slidably attached to the corresponding guide rail, the body portions of the flanged rollers being arranged to bear against the sides of the container while the inside faces of the flanges are arranged to The supporting members are conveniently supported on pairs of freely rotatable rollers mounted on the guide rails, longitudinal slots being provided in the supporting members for the accommodation of the rollers.

The stationary guides may be in the form of slotted members attached to the conveyor framework, the projections on the controlling members being arranged to ride in the slots of the slotted members to position the controlling members.

By way of example, the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of an apparatus according to the invention,

Figure 2 is an elevation, drawn to an enlarged scale. of part of the apparatus shown in Figure Figure 3 is a part sectional elevation of the apparatus taken on the line 2-3 in Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a further part sectional elevation of the apparatus taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2. Referring to the drawings, a pair of parallel chains carrying pusher bars l2 are mounted on sprockets |3 carried by the framework l4 of a flap holding and gluing device, of which a portion only is shown.

Mounted on the framework H are a series of pairs of supporting pillars l6, l1 and i8, one of each pair being on one side of the machine and the other (not shown) being on the opposite side of the machine. The pillars l6 are carried at their lower ends in brackets l5 and are connected at their upper ends by a transverse frame I. while the pillars l1 and I! are connected by a pair of brackets 2| and a transverse shaft 22 extending between the brackets 2 I.

Slidably mounted on the supporting pillars l6 are a pair of brackets 23 which support a pair of transverse shafts 24 on which is mounted one end of a central frame 26. Slidably mounted on the pairs of supporting pillars l1 and I8 is a pair of brackets 21 supporting a further pair of transverse shafts 26, similar to the shafts 24, which act as a further support for the central frame 26. Housed in threaded portions of the brackets 23 and 21 are pairs of screws 29 and 3| respectively, thescrews 29 having bearings at their lower ends in the brackets l5 and bearings at their upper ends in the transverse frame l9, while the screws 3| have bearings at their upper ends in the brackets 2|. The screws are driven by a shaft 32 through pairs of spiral gears 33 in the case of the screws 3| and through bevel gears 34 and 31 in the case of the screws 29, the shaft 32 being driven from a motor (not shown) mounted on one of the brackets 2|.

Mounted in the frame 26 are screwed shafts 4| and 42 to the central portions of which are secured respectively sprockets 43 and 44 connected by a chain 46. The screw shaft 42 is provided with a second sprocket 41 which is driven through a further chain 48 by a second motor (not shown). The screwed shafts 4| and 4! are provided on opposite sides of their respective sprockets 43 and 44 with opposite hand threads.

Slidably mounted on the shafts 24, on opposite sides of the frame 26, and engaging with the screwed shaft 4| are a pair of brackets 49 formed with depending bosses 5| to which are attached upper guide rails 52 and ploughs 53. A further pair of brackets 54 similarly mounted for engagement with the screwed shaft 42 are provided for supporting a gluing device 56 and for assisting in the support of the upper guide rails 52.

It will be seen that by rotation of the screwed shafts 29 and 3| by their driving motor and associated gearing, the frame 26 and the parts of the apparatus supported thereby can be raised and lowered at will for the accommodation of containers of different height, while by rotation of the screwed shafts 4| and 42 by their driving motor and associated gearing, the brackets 49 and 54 together with the parts of the apparatus supported thereby can be adjusted laterally for the accommodation of containers of different width.

The apparatus described above is of known construction and for this reason the salient features only have been described. It will be understood that, whilst the flap-folding and gluing mechanism has been shown only in relation to the top of the container, similar mechanism is provided for the folding and gluing of the bottom flaps of the container.

Mounted on freely rotatable rollers 6| on the upper guide rails 52 are a pair of flap-controlling members each consisting of a series of flanged rollers 62 freely mounted for rotation about vertical axes on a supporting member 63"provided with a slot 64 for engagement with the rollers 6|. The members 63 are provided with vertical lugs 66 from each of which there extends at right angles a stud 61 carrying a roller 66 which is arranged to engage an inclined slot 69 in a bracket ll (see particularly Figures 2 to 4). The

.bracket II is attached to the framework of a conveyor, the upper belt 12 of which is inclined at its leading edge to the general plane of the lower belt 13 of the conveyor. The conveyor is of the self-adjusting type described in United States Patent No. 2,254,860, dated September 2, 1941, corresponding to British application No. 11,655/39, filed April 18, 1939, to which reference may be made for further details. The slot 69 is inclined at substantially the same angle as the leading edge of the belt 12.'

In operation, container 8| are passed through the folding and gluing device by the pusher' bars l2 and during their transit through this part of the apparatus the side flaps of the containers, which have been previously ploughed outwardly, are given a coating of glue by the gluing device 56. After leaving the gluing device the glued side flaps ar then turned over by the ploughs 53 on to the previously folded inside flaps of the container, the inside flaps being held in their folded position during the ploughing operation by a guide 82 supported by the frame 26. The container then passes from the folding and gluing device to the conveyor and during such passage the upper side edges of the container pass into the angles formed between the fiange and body portions of the flanged rollers 62, a pivoted spring-loaded central shoe 83 maintaining the flaps in their folded position until they come under the influence of the flanged rollers 62. The folded flap of the container are then controlled by the flanged rollers 62 substantially up to the point at which the container passes between the belts l2 and 13 of the conveyor. The first flanged roller 62 that the container 8| meets is disposed at a slightly higher level than the remaining flanged rollers so as to permit easy entry of the edges of the container into the angles mentioned above.

As the apparatus is adjusted for containers of different height, the mounting of the supporting member 63 on the rollers 6| and the engagement of the roller 66 with the slot 69 causes the supporting member 63 automatically to move, in a direction parallel to the direction of travel of the containers, towards or away from the inclined portion of the belt 12 according as the adjustment is made for containers of greater or lesser height. It will be seen that, by these means, the distance between the foremost flanged roller 62 and the inclined portion of the belt 12, considered in the direction of travel of the containers, remains substantially constant for any height of container within the range of the apparatus, so that the flaps of the container, whatever the height of the container, are controlled by the fianged rollers 62, substantially up to the point at which they enter the conveyor.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the type described, comprising a pair of controlling members arranged to engage and maintain the folded condition of the upper flaps of containers during their transfer from a folding and gluing unit to a conveyor, said controlling members being slidably mounted for movement over a path parallel to the path of travel of the containers through the apparatus and adapted to be adjusted to accommodate con tainers of different heightsimultaneously with the adjustment of the folding and gluing unit for the same purpose, said conveyor having an upper belt section provided with an inclined portion adjacent the controlling members, and guiding means adapted to engage the controlling members in such a manner that during such adjustment the controlling members are caused to slide in a direction towards or away from the conveyor to maintain substantially constant the distance between the controlling members and the inclined portion of the upper belt section of the conveyor, considered in the direction of travel of the containers.

2. Apparatus of the type described, comprising a pair of. controlling members arranged to engage and maintain the folded condition of the upper flaps of containers during their transfer from a folding and gluing unit to a conveyor, said controlling members being slidably mounted on guide rails in the folding and gluing unit for movement over a path parallel to the path of travel of the containers through the apparatus, said guide rails being adjustable to accommodate containers of different height, a pair of stationary guides inclined at substantially the same angle as the upper belt of the conveyor, said conveyor having an upper belt section provided with an inclined portion adjacent the stationary guides, and a pair of projections on the controlling members adapted to be engaged-by the stationary guides so as to cause the controlling members during adjustment of the guide rails to slide in a direction towards or away from the conveyor to maintain substantially constant the distance between the controlling members and the inclined portion of the upper belt of the conveyor, considered in the direction of travel of the containers.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each controlling member comprises a set of rotatable flanged rollers freely mounted side by side in the lengthwise direction of the' container on a supporting member, the body portions of the flanged rollers being arranged to bear against the sides of the container while the inside faces of the flanges are arranged to bear against the folded flaps. I

4. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each controlling member comprises a set of rotatable flanged rollers freely mounted side by side in the lengthwise direction of the container on a supporting member, the body portions of the flanged rollers being arranged to bear against the sides of the container while the inside faces of the flanges are arranged to bear against the folded flaps.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlling members are supported on freely rotatable rollers mounted on the folding and gluing unit, the controlling members being provided with longitudinal slots for the accommodation of the rollers.

6. Apparatus of the type described, comprising a pair of controlling members arranged to engage and maintain the folded condition of the upper flaps of a container during its transfer from a folding and gluing unit to a conveyor, said conveyor having an upper belt section provided with an inclined portion adjacent the controlling members, eachcontrolling member consisting of a set of rotatable flanged rollers freely mounted side by side in the lengthwise direction of the container on a supporting member, the body portions of the flanged rollers being arranged to bear against the sides of the container while the inside faces of the flanges are arranged to bear against the folded flaps, saidsupporting members being supported on freely rotatable rollers mounted on guide rails in the folding and gluing unit for movement over a path parallel to the path of travel of the containers through the apparatus, said guide rails being adjustable to accommodate containers of different height, the supporting members having longitudinal slots for the accommodation of the rollers, a pair of stationary guides inclined at substantially the same angle as the inclined portion of the upper belt section, and a pair of projections on the supporting members adapted to be engaged by the stationary guides so as to cause the controlling members during adjustment of the guide rails to move in a direction towards or away from the conveyor to maintain substantially constant the distance between the controlling members and the inclined portion of the upper belt section of the conveyor, considered in the direction of travel of the containers.

'7. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the stationary guides are in the form of slotted members, the projections on the controlling members being arranged to ride in the slots of the slotted members to position the controlling members.

8. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the stationary guides are in the form of slotted members, the projections on the supporting members being arranged to ride in the slots of the slotted members to position the controlling members.

ALFRED GERMAN ROSE. 

